$1.2B Settlement Approved in VW 3 Liter Engine Emissions Lawsuit

Santa Clara, CA: A US district judge hearing the Volkswagen AG emissions scandal lawsuits has said he will grant approval of a $1.2 billion settlement deal, effectively ending claims affecting VW’s 3.0-liter-engine vehicles.

The settlement is the latest in a series that total in excess of $17 billion. All the cases stem from the emission-cheating software installed in certain VW and Audi vehicles.

The settlement will involve 88,500 owners of VW 3.0-liter cars. Under the terms of a related consent decree with the US Department of Justice, the German automaker will pay $225 million to mitigate environmental effects of nitrogen oxide pollution.

This latest settlement follows the earlier $14.7 billion deal with owners of 2.0-liter vehicles reached in October 2016. That deal includes $2.7 billion for environmental remediation.

According to a statement issued by Department of Justice attorney Josh Van Eaton, who represented the US Environmental Protection Agency in the lawsuits, the consumer settlements of the VW emissions scandal is “the largest civil penalty ever under the Clean Air Act.”

The case is In re: Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” Marketing, Sales Practices and Product Liability Litigation, case number 3:15-md-02672, in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.